Prime Minister and leader of ruling SDSM Zoran Zaev said he would meet with opposition VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski on Sunday evening at 20:00h.

Talks in the government’s building will focus on the upcoming presidential elections, reform laws and everything else in the interest of the state, said Zaev.

When asked why the leaders of the main Albanian parties weren’t invited to the meeting, he said that there was no need for such a format.

What matters to me, Zaev said, is to discuss the upcoming presidential elections and the Euro-integration process because the country’s NATO accession isn’t over yet.

“We have to do everything we can in order to secure a date for the opening of EU negotiations. These are important issues,” the PM stated saying he believed that both the ruling coalition and the opposition should bear the responsibility of taking historic decisions.

Asked whether presidential hopeful Stevo Pendarovski was being followed by secret services – a claim unveiled by Pendarovski at a recent TV interview – Zaev said that the candidate of the ruling coalition was ‘safe’. “And I think that all citizens in the Republic of North Macedonia should feel safe,” he stated, adding the country was ‘secure, safe and stable.’

On Friday, Pendarovski filed a police report. He said he expected relevant authorities to investigate his claims. “I’ve got the impression that I’m being followed, however I want an official body to tell me if it’s true and if I’m the only subject that is being followed,” he told reporters on Saturday.